The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) today approved the audited Annual Accounts of the ECB for the year ending 31 December 2012.
The ECB earned a surplus of €2,164 million in 2012, compared with a surplus of €1,894 million in 2011. The Governing Council decided to transfer as at 31 December 2012 an amount of €1,166 million to the risk provision, which increased it to the level of its present ceiling of €7,529 million. The purpose of the risk provision is to cover foreign exchange rate, interest rate, credit and gold price risks, which are monitored on an ongoing basis. The size of and the continuing requirement for this provision are reviewed annually.